I'm the executive editor of the Advisory Board's Daily Briefing, a popular health care newsletter that goes out to more than 150,000 subscribers. I'm also a blogger for ESPN's TrueHoop Network, a columnist at California Healthline, and a social media junkie. Posts are eclectic; views are personal. Let me know what I've missed – find me on Twitter at @ddiamond.

Four Myths About Jeremy Lin That Won't Die

Jeremy Lin’s move from the New York Knicks to the Houston Rockets almost feels right.

If you’re anyone but a Knicks fan, that is.

After all, Lin rocketed onto the national stage—in a New York minute—and his team-switch is one of the most divisive NBA decisions since The Decision. It’s a perfect story to inject drama into the league’s offseason, and the perfect storm of sports, business, and ethnicity has launched a thousand articles overnight.

But the punditry keep getting the Jeremy Lin story wrong. Sure, the Knicks are getting pilloried for losing a transcendent star, but Lin’s also being attacked by the fans who loved him only days ago.

Here are four myths that keep getting repeated in the coverage.

Myth: The Knicks Are a Better Team

Fact: Lin Jumped Ship Just in Time

The Knicks have tortured fans for more than a decade—the franchise has won just one playoff game since 2000—and last year’s surprise run aside, there’s no clear relief in sight.

The team has accumulated a collection of older players with big names, diminishing games, and expensive contracts. As the Lin fiasco appears to prove, the owner continues to harmfully meddle.

And the key players’ skill sets aren’t aligned, either. Lin made his mark when Knicks’ go-to scorer Carmelo Anthony was sidelined with injuries; upon Anthony’s return, the two had trouble co-existing and the Knicks lost eight of their next 10 games. Both players perform better when they’re initiating the offense; perhaps they would have figured out a way to share the ball next year, but if the Knicks’ past is prologue, the team would have sputtered, the stars would’ve clashed in the media, and Lin would’ve lost his franchise-savior luster.

Meanwhile, Houston offered obvious benefits for Lin, strictly from a basketball standpoint. It’s a significantly more stable franchise, run by data-savant Daryl Morey. The Rockets also have won two NBA championships in the past 20 years—including a 1994 victory over the Knicks, who haven’t claimed a title since 1973—and are frequently in the playoffs. Houston may not be NBA royalty, but they aren’t the Milwaukee Bucks, either.

And the team’s style of play should help Lin ascend from Cinderella to star. As ESPN analyst John Hollinger notes, middling point guards like Goran Dragic and Kyle Lowry excelled in the Rockets’ system last year. With Lin now running the show, the Rockets are “going to give him the rock, get out of his way, and let him create to his heart’s content. He’ll be better with the Rockets than he ever would have been in New York,” Hollinger concludes.

Myth: Playing in New York City Offers an Unbeatable Marketing Platform

It’s never a good idea to contradict a Forbes editor in print—let alone when you’ve been blogging for Forbes.com for all of a month—but Lane has this wrong. Yes, there are clear marketing benefits to being a professional athlete in New York City, or Los Angeles, or even Miami.

But Michael Jordan became an icon while playing 13 years in Chicago, joining a team that had been mediocre (and glitz-free) before he arrived. LeBron James spent his first seven years in Cleveland, on his way to becoming an international star.

In some professions, you do need to be in a certain city. If you’re a lobbyist, you work in Washington; if you’re an actor, you head to Hollywood.

But in the global economy—when the NBA is available on live demand and athletes can control their own brand via social media—if you’re good enough, the mountain (and marketers) will come to you.

Post Your Comment

Post Your Reply

Forbes writers have the ability to call out member comments they find particularly interesting. Called-out comments are highlighted across the Forbes network. You'll be notified if your comment is called out.

Comments

Not to be a hater–who me?–but I used to look at Lin’s box score stats and he’d have 6, 8 and even 9 turnovers… It settled down and it looks like his season average was 3.6. But that’s still higher than any of the other starting point guards, on a per minute basis. John Wall, who’s also young and turnover-prone, had a TO every 9 minutes vs. every 7 for Lin. I’m worried he’s not as good as people think–even though I’m rooting for him.

Harvard-Hater Dave: This is counterintuitive, but a high turnover rate for a young PG often predicts future success — i.e., Lin’s TO% rate compared favorably to a rookie Steve Nash or Jason Kidd.

Why is that? Essentially, these turnover-prone players still demonstrated enough of the right, raw talent that coaches were inclined to trust them with the ball; the PGs then made rapid improvements in the next few seasons.

Well, you do have to take into account that Lin hadn’t really played against that much high level competition and did not have as many practices with his teammates to iron out all of the mistakes.

And Lin’s turnovers percentages not only compare to rookie Nash, they are similar to what Nash and Rondo currently post. While I’m not saying that he is a playmaker on that level, the turnover problem seems to be a little overblown.

Also, the current Rockets roster is filled with young talent. They have players who can compliment Lin very well. He will be allowed to play his game in Houston without worrying about another ball dominant player.

It should be interesting to see if Bynum/Dwight end up in Houston. Players wanted to play with Yao for the endorsement money. Should be interesting to see if Lin has the same effect.

All great points. There’s a wonderful Houston Chronicle article that recounts the Yao effect: Shane Battier couldn’t even leave his hotel room in China, lest the fans rip the clothes from his back. http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets/article/Rockets-enjoy-Chinese-endorsement-deals-due-to-Yao-1703271.php

I wonder if Dwight could end up there…That would be interesting. Also: people are so quick to diss Houston but it’s not in any way a small market franchise. Houston is the 5th biggest market in the country after NYC, Chicago, LA and Dallas-Fort Worth.

I don’t know about Nash’s early years..so I’ll take your word for it. But Lin has 3.6 TOPG which is around where Rondo is–but Rondo played 10 more minutes per game this past season, which is why I weighted it by minute. On a per minute basis, Lin’s a lot more turnover-prone than the others.

That’s true re: turnovers per minute, but Lin played in a much faster-paced offense under Mike D’Antoni than Rondo did under Doc Rivers.

In this case, a useful stat to normalize across players and teams is TO %, which measures turnovers per 100 possessions and which shows parity between the two PGs. (You can find it listed on basketball-reference.com.)

I am not educate as you 2….but I do sometime (at my brain) …ok…the Turn Over during the game…resulted WINNER team right?…. the winner only the game count a Win… if you have less turn over resulted lose the game at the end…. is count for good Stats?……anyway…back to the real story…just like Kaktik said very interesting to see what to come when Lin have no pressure of his own mind of the game…. David is right…..if someone like Wright come to team up….then It’s very interesting to watch the underdog bite….. (in old Asian always said….. if you a snake, you will raw on the ground but if you are a Dragon the you have to fly on the sky. No matter what)….I can’t lease all my mind thinking on this post but…I like Jeremy. that’s young boys gave alot of people inspiration, and HOPE…<<>> in business owner….the $money$ machine just dropped in front of your front yard…then why I have to think to much for some change in my pocket…take it right away…..Dolan was a stupiiiid decision to create the drama…..that’s why I sold all my msg stock right away otherwise I lose my money….now what…. :) he just killed Lin fans Linsanity lovers and stock holders die out with Lin because of wrong decision…

a) it doesn’t matter where you play if you’re a WINNER. My larger point was the NY will have a very good team, and Houston, unless they get Dwight Howard, won’t even make the playoffs. He goes to San Antonio or OKC, and leads them to the promised land, different story…and

b) he’s not Lebron or MJ. Until I’m proven wrong, he’s above average (no better) creature of hype, and the hype capital is NY.

Dig your citation of Hollinger. Could easily prove true, vs. dumping to Melo 20x a game…but if/when Houston goes 37-45, i just don’t like the narrative for him….

How will NY have a “very good team”? The only changes they’ve made this offseason is to sign veterans who will have about 20 minutes per night.

Making the playoffs in the East is not really something worth writing home about, especially since the Knicks will probably get bounced in the first round over and over again until Amar’e/Melo decide to go to a team with a proper coaching staff and front office.

Agree with parts of Randall’s classy reply: We do love winners, and the Big Apple is hype central. But now that Jeremy Lin’s Q rating is so high (has any other recent athlete warranted this many Forbes posts?) — I doubt he still needs NYC’s magnifying glass.

And I’d take Sohum’s point a step further. If I was an investor, choosing between the Knicks and Rockets, I’d go long on Houston. The team’s core is young and likely to improve; the general manager is a brilliant mad scientist; and they essentially had the same record as the Knicks, playing in a much harder conference and division.